Wall attachment system

ABSTRACT

Integral weld plates that are cast into individual concrete wall sections for attaching the sections together. The weld plate is a steel channel having two opposing flanges between a web and four reinforcing bars welded on the inward, opposing faces of the flanges. Two of the reinforcing bars are orthogonal to the web and the other two are inclined at approximately 45* with respect to the web. The free ends of the reinforcing bars are deformed in order to lock the channel into the concrete. On each vertical concrete wall, four weld plates are embedded at the remote ends of the two horizontal margins. After two concrete walls are vertically erected together, a connecting plate is welded between the adjacent webs of the upper two weld plates of the two abutting concrete walls. The lower two weld plates are welded to a steel foundation plate embedded in a concrete footing.

United States Patent 91 Scholz et al.

[451 Oct. 22, 1974 1 WALL ATTACHMENT SYSTEM [73] Assignee: Printex Concrete Products, Santa Clara, Calif.

[22] Filed: May 30, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 257,569

52 user. .Q ..52/293,52/596 511 lnt.Cl. ..E04c2/06,E02d 27/00 581 FieldofSearch ..52/601,483,474,475,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 675.648 6/1901 Beardsley 52/601 1.796.048 3/1931 Robinson.....' 52/601 2,001,162 5/1935 Strauss 52/601 2.202.783 5/1940 Morrell 52/293 2.208.814 7/1940 Peabody 52/601 2.592.634 4/1952 Wilson 52/601 2,664,740 l/l954 Cochrane 52/601 2.703.003 l/l955 Ruppel 52/601 2.704.935 3/1955 Uddenborg 52/576 3,494,092 2/1970 Johnson et al... 52/745 3.555.763 l/l97l Bloxom 52/745 9/1972 Trezzini 52/274 FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATlONS 376,308 7/1932 Great Britain 52/432 952,375 Q3/1964 Great Britain 52/583 Primary ExaminerFrank L. Abbott Assistant Examiner-James L. Ridgill, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmTownsend and Townsend 57 ABSTRACT integral weld plates that are cast into individual concrete wall sections for attaching the sections together. The weld plate is a steel channel having two opposing flanges between a web and four reinforcing bars welded on the inward, opposing faces of the flanges. Two of the reinforcing bars are orthogonal to the web and the other two are inclined at approximately 45 with respect to the web. The freeends of the reinforc ing bars are deformed in order to lock the channel into the concrete. On each vertical concrete wall, four weld plates are embedded at the remote ends of the two horizontal margins. After two concrete walls are vertically erected together, a connecting plate is welded between the adjacent webs of the upper two weld plates of the two abutting concrete walls. The lower two weld plates are welded to a steel foundation plate embedded in a concrete footing.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENIEB nmzzxsm MIUIZ WALL ATTACHMENT SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to prefabricated, precast concrete walls and, more particularly, to the assembly components utilized to mount several precast concrete wall panels together.

2. Summary of the Invention Precast concrete wall panels and floor slabs have been used for many years in the building construction industry. In general, the panels are poured at a site remote from the construction area. Usually, the forms for the panels are laid out horizontally on the ground although vertical forms can be used. Reinforcing steel is next placed within the forms. Next, the concrete is poured into the form and hardens. The resulting panel is transported from the pouring site to the construction site for incorporation into a building.

One of the primary problems in using precast concrete is mounting the slabs together. Concrete is an inert, non-weldable material. Thus, the manufacturers of concrete slabs have resorted to casting attaching plates or welding foundations into the concrete slabs during fabrication. These welding plates allow the concrete slabs to be welded together or to be fitted with metallic hooks so that adjacent, abutting slabs may rigidly engage each other.

A problem frequently encountered in the tilt-up wall industry, is having to use temporary lateral wall bracing. After the concrete walls have been horizontally poured, usually they are individually tilted-up into position and braced. This temporary bracing is required to support each wall from falling over until all the walls are erected and the roof is in place. The temporary bracing is cumbersome and obstructs other construction work nearby the walls.

My wall attachment system consists of four steel weld plates that are cast in place at the corners of each concrete slab. Each weld plate is a steel channel having two opposing flanges between a web and having four steel reinforcing bars welded to the inward, opposing faces of the flanges. Two of the bars are orthogonal to the web and the other two are inclined at approximately 45 with respect to the web. The free ends of the reinforcing bars are deformed in order to lock the weld plate onto the slab. Two of the weld plates are embedded in notches at, what will ultimately become after vertical erection, the remote ends of the upperhorizontal margin of the slab. The remaining two weld plates are embedded at the remote ends of the ultimate lower horizontal margin of the slab. When two slabs are erected together for installation, a connecting plate is welded between the adjacent webs of the upper two weld plates of the two slabs. The connecting plate sits within the upper notches. The lower two weld plates are welded to a common foundation plate set in either a concrete footing or concrete piers.

My wall attachment system can be used both on structural load bearing walls and on concrete perimeter fencing panels. My system does not require lateral support for the wall slabs nor is bracing required for freestanding perimeter fences. The fence panels may be used along freeways for noise abatement and median barriers and around residential homes for security and privacy. In addition, my wall attachment system does not require a continuous concrete footing for a foundation for the slabs. The slabs can be mounted on concrete piers set in the ground under each vertical joint of the slabs. The weld plates and theanchor bars create within each slab a supporting column that rests on each pier. When my wall attachment system is used for perimeter fencing, the walls are .able to withstand wind forces of up to 20 pounds per square foot. During construction my wall attachment system keys the wall together as well as providing a foundation on the concrete piers onto which the slabs can be mounted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the weld plate;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of two vertical concrete wall slabs mounted together on three concrete piers;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view of two weld plates joined together on abutting concrete wall slabs;

FIG. 4 is an end view of a slab partially in section taken along line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a foundation plate; FIG. 6'is a fragmentary 'plan view of two adjacent abutting wall slabs joined together by my wall attachment system; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of two vertical concrete wall slabs mounted together on three concrete piers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 reference numeral 12 generally indicates a weld plate. The weld plate is generally shaped like a channel and is fabricated from any weldable steel. The weld plate comprises a flange portion 14, another flange portion 16 and a web portion 18. The web portion joins the two opposing flange portions to form the channel. Mounted orthogonally on the weld plates 12 are two anchor bars 20 and 21, and mounted at an acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the web are two anchor bars 22 and 23. Through experience I have found that an acute angle of 4550 is preferable. When the weld plates are mounted on a wall slab as hereinafter described, an internal supporting column is created. This internal column is most effectively supported by anchor bars 22 and 23 disposed at 4550. The four anchor bars are made from conventionalreinforcing bar stock and are deformed so that the anchor bars will suitably engage any concrete slab into which the anchor bars are embedded. The anchor barsmay be deformed in any manner consistent with good engineering practice. In FIG. 4 the free ends of the anchor bars are shown deformed inwardly towards each other immediately after clearing the flange portions 14, 16 of the weld plate. The anchor bars are further deformed to a right angle near their terminal free ends. The anchor bars may be of any length provided that they are sufficiently long enough to engage the concrete slab in which they are embedded so that the weld plate, which they are anchoring, cannot be pulled loose from the concrete slab. The anchor bars 20, 21, 22 and 23 are rigidly attached to the flange portions l4, 16 of the weld plate by fillet welds 24. The fillet welds position the anchor bars on the weld plate and provide the attachment of the anchor bars to the weld plate.

Referring to FIG. 2, reference numeral 26 generally indicates a vertically erected concrete wall slab on which my wall attachment system is utilized. Adjacent to wall slab 26 in abutting relationship is another vertically erected concrete wall slab 28. Both wall slabs 26 and 28 were cast with four weld plates embedded at the corners of each slab and so located that after the slabs were erected, the weld plates would be at the remote ends of the horizontal margins of the slabs. The web portions of all weld plates in each slab are parallel. Weld plate 30 and weld plate 31 are the upper most weld plates on the erected slab 26. Weld plates 30, 31 were embedded in the slab below the plane of the upper horizontal surface of the slab after erection. Thus, the location of the weld plate 31 creates a notch 34 in the top edge of the wall slab.

Wall slabs 26, 28 are shown mounted upon three concrete piers 36, 38 and 40. These concrete piers are set in the ground and provide the structural foundation for the slabs. Although in this embodiment concrete piers are used, it is intended that a continuous concrete foundation may also be utilized. If a continuous concrete foundation is provided, the lower most weld plates are attached in the same manner as when concrete piers are used.

Weld plate 32 and weld plate 33 are the lower most weld plates on the erected slab 26. When weld plates 32, 33 were embedded in the wall slab, the web portions of the channels were coplanar with the edge of the slab. in other words, the surface of the webs of the lower weld plates, after the slab is erected, is part of the continuous surface of the lower horizontal margin. There are no notches like notch 34 on the lower margin of the erected slab.

When the channels of the weld plates were embedded in the concrete slabs, the flange portions of the weld plates did not extend beyond the surface of the faces of the slab. In other words, the outward facing, exterior surface of each flange is even and continuous with the front or rear facing vertical, upright face of slab 26. FIG. 4 shows that the upper most weld plates do not extend beyond the front and rear facing surfaces of an erected wall slab.

Embedded in the upper horizontal surface of each pier is a steel foundation plate. On concrete pier 36 a steel foundation plate 42 has been rigidly and firmly attached to the pier, similarly foundation plate 44 in pier 38 and foundation plate 46 in pier 40. The attachment of foundation plates 42, 44 may be done in accordance with any of the conventional methods now in use in the building industry. As one method of attachment a weld plate generally indicated by reference numeral 47 in FIG. is used for the foundation plate. Weld plate 47 is a steel channel having at least two orthogonally welded anchor bars 48, 49 thereon. The anchor bars are fabricated from conventional reinforcing bar stock. These anchor bars are sufficiently long enough to anchor the weld plate to the pier and sufficiently curved to lock the weld plate into place. Weld plate 47 is cast into place when the pier is formed.

When wall slab 26 is erected and positioned on piers 36 and 38, the lower weld plates 32 and 33 are welded respectively to foundation plates 44 and 42. Reference numeral 50 indicates a fillet weld that is used to join the foundation plates to the weld plates. When wall slab 28 is located adjacent to and in line with wall slab 26, the lower weld plates 51, 52 of slab 28 are welded respectively to the foundation plates 44 and 46. Thus, the nearer of the lower weld plates 32, 51 are both welded to a common foundation plate 44.

To join the upper portions of the concrete slabs 26 and 28, a steel connecting plate 54 is used. The connecting plate is a rectangular plate made of any weldable steel having the same width as both the wall slabs 26, 28 and the web portion of the weld plates. The connecting plate has a thickness equal to the depth of the notch 34 and a length equal to twice the length of a single weld plate. When the connecting plate 54 is located in place on the top of the webs of the nearer of the two upper weld plate 30, 55, the connecting plate just fills the space between the two nearby notches on wall slab 26 and 28. The connecting plate 54 is welded to both weld plate 30 and weld plate 55 with one long, continuous bead on each side of the wall.

To employ my wall attachment system, I first deform sixteen conventional reinforcing rods into the general shape hereinbefore described and shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The overall lengths of these rods that will become the anchor bars can vary depending on the loading requirements and the thickness of the wall slab. 1 next obtain four standard steel channels having an outside width equal to the desired width of the wall slab to be cast. I weld four of the deformed anchor bars 20, 21, 22, 23 into place in each channel, two orthogonally and two inclined at approximately 45-50 using fillet welds, 24. This step completes the fabrication of the four weld plates unless a weather protecting, rust resisting coating is desired on the weld plates. If so desired, it is applied at this point. I now locate the four weld plates in the forms for casting the concrete slab. Those two weld plates that will be finally located in the upper portion of the erected wall slab are so located to provide a notch 34 in the finished slab. Those two weld plates that will finally be the lower weld plates after the slab is erected are located flush against the mold so that no notch is provided. If reinforcing bars are desired for the slab, they are next inserted into the forms. The concrete is now poured into the forms. After the wall slab has hardened sufficiently to enable its transportation, the wall slab is removed from the mold and moved to the construction site.

The erection process of the wall slab at the construction site begins by first locating wall slab 26 vertically in place upon piers 36 and 38. Steel foundation plates 42 and 44 have been previously provided during the construction of the piers 36, 38. As soon as wall slab 26 is located in place, the lower weld plates 32 and 33 are welded securely to the foundation plates 42, 44. Next wall slab 28 is swung into position and located upon concrete piers 38 and 40. As soon as slab 28 is in position, its lower weld plates 51, 52 are securely welded to foundation plates 44 and 46. At this point, weld plate 32 of slab 26 and weld plate 51 of slab 28 have been welded together on a single common foundation plate 44. The foundation plate 44 engages both the downward facing web surfaces of weld plates 32 and 51 and also touches the lower horizontal edges of wall slabs 26 and 28.

The upper portions of wall slabs 26 and 28 are next joined by welding a steel connecting plate 54 to weld plates 30 and 55 using conventional bead welds. When in place, connecting plate 54 completely fills the two adjacent notches 34. The upper horizontal surface of plate 54 is coplanar with and continuous to the upper facing horizontal surface of slabs 26 and 28. For greater strength and rigidity of the wall, it may also be desired to weld the upper weld plates 30 and 55 to themselves using a bead weld 57. Similarly, the lower weld plates 32 and 51 may be welded together using a bead weld 58.

When two wall slabs, having my weld plates, are joined together to form the corner of a building, the two slabs are first erected and located in place. In FIG. 6 reference numeral 60 and reference numeral 62 generally indicate two such adjacent, abutting wall slabs forming a corner of a building. After slabs 60 and 62 are located in place on concrete piers as hereinbefore described and the lower weld plates on each slab (not shown in FIG. 6) are welded to the foundation plates on the concrete piers, a steel connecting plate 64 is positioned between the notches 66 in the upper adjacent corners of slabs 60 and 62. The connecting plate 64 is of similar construction as connecting plate 54 hereinbefore described. Connecting plate 64 is next welded to the two upper weld plates 68, 70. Reference numeral 72 generally indicates the location of the welds.

When my wall attachment system is employed, the concrete walls joined thereby are linked by small, substantially inconspicuous metal plates. In addition, these metal plates do not project beyond the boundaries of the surfaces of the concrete slab. There are no protrusions of metal from the walls. Furthermore, the upper z and lower horizontal surfaces of the erected slabs after being attached together are continuous and unbroken. Hence, a good platform for further construction is provided in both directions. The notches 34 and the connecting plates 54 and 64 key the slabs into position as well as maintain lateral stability. The resulting wall formed from the two slabs is free standing and requires no temporary bracing.

Within the wall on top of each pier an internal supporting column is formed. When the wall slab is welded to the foundation plate and welded to the connecting plate, the stresses are distributed in the slab from the foundation to the top of the slab. In addition, the stresses are also distributed throughout the slab so that the entire slab is utilized as a column. Referring to FIG. 7, the acute angled, anchor bars 70 to 77 consecutively projecting from every wall plate actively support a larger portion of the slabs 26 and 28 than that ordinarily supported by the piers alone. On pier 38 the anchor bars 71, 72, 75 and 76 extend substantially beyond the sides of the pier to focus more of the walls weight on the pier. Thus, my wall attachment system will support a larger vertical load than any previous, similar attachment system.

Although only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it is obvious that other adaptations and modifications to this invention can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A wall attachment arrangement comprising a plurality of precast concrete panels, said panels supported on edge in an upright position end to end to form the walls of the structure;

a plurality of weld plates, each of which is castin place at a remote end of a horizontal edge of the upright panels, each weld plate having a web portion joining two opposing flange portions and having means for rigidly mounting said weld plates to said concrete panels so that said webs are substantially parallel to one another yet integrally joined to said mounting means, so that when said mounting means are embedded in said panel internal columnar support is provided for said weld plates;

a plurality of connecting plates, each of said connecting plates weldably joined to and in substantial parallel alignment with the web portions of weld plates mounted on adjacent upright panels.

2. The wall attachment system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said mounting means comprises a plurality of anchor bars at least two of which are orthogonally joined to said weld plate and embedded within said'panel.

3. The wall attachment system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said connecting plates are mountable within notches provided in said panels, the edges of said plates being flush with the vertical face and horizontal edge surfaces of said upright panels.

4. A wall attachment arrangement comprising a plurality of precast concrete panels, said panels being supported on edge in an upright position end to end to form the walls of a structure;

a plurality of weld plates, each cast in place at the remote ends of horizontal edges of the upright panels, each weld plate having a web portion joining two opposing flange portions and a plurality of anchor bars at least two of which are joined to said weld plate at an acute angle and embedded within said panel, rigidly mounting said weld plates to said concrete panels so that said webs of said weld plates are in substantial parallel alignment, said anchor bars so deformed to create an internal supporting column within said panel; and

a plurality of connecting plates, each of said connecting plates weldably joined to the web portions of the weld plates mounted on adjacent panels, so that said connection plates are in substantial parallel alignment with the web portions of said weld plates.

5. A precast concrete wall construction comprising:

a plurality of precast concrete panels, each of said panels having first and second pairs of weldable attachment plates embedded at the comers thereof along opposed parallel edges, the outer surfaces of the first pair of plates along one edge spaced from the edge margin of the panel a distance sufficient to accommodate the thickness of a connector plate, first and second anchor bars integral with said first and second pairs of weldable attachment plates for embedding same in said plurality of precast concrete panels, and a connector plate weldably joined to one of the first pair of plates of adjacent panels, the outer surface of said connector plate being substantially even with the edge margins of said adjacent panels.

6. The wall construction system of claim 5 and including foundation means for supporting said panels in vertical position, said foundation means having weldable foundation plates embedded therein, each of said foundation plates aligned in registry with one of said second pair of plates along the bottom edge of adjacent vertical panels. 

1. A wall attachment arrangement comprising a plurality of precast concrete panels, said panels supported on edge in an upright position end to end to form the walls of the structure; a plurality of weld plates, each of which is cast in place at a remote end of a horizontal edge of the upright panels, each weld plate having a web portion joining two opposing flange portions and having means for rigidly mounting said weld plates to said concrete panels so that said webs are substantially parallel to one another yet integrally joined to said mounting means, so that when said mounting means are embedded in said panel internal columnar support is provided for said weld plates; a plurality of connecting plates, each of said connecting plates weldably joined to and in substantial parallel alignment with the web portions of weld plates mounted on adjacent upright panels.
 2. The wall attachment system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said mounting means comprises a plurality of anchor bars at least two of which are orthogonally joined to said weld plate and embedded within said panel.
 3. The wall attachment system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said connecting plates are mountable within notches provided in said panels, the edges of said plates being flush with the vertical face and horizontal edge surfaces of said upright panels.
 4. A wall attachment arrangement comprising a plurality of precast concrete panels, said panels being supported on edge in an upright position eNd to end to form the walls of a structure; a plurality of weld plates, each cast in place at the remote ends of horizontal edges of the upright panels, each weld plate having a web portion joining two opposing flange portions and a plurality of anchor bars at least two of which are joined to said weld plate at an acute angle and embedded within said panel, rigidly mounting said weld plates to said concrete panels so that said webs of said weld plates are in substantial parallel alignment, said anchor bars so deformed to create an internal supporting column within said panel; and a plurality of connecting plates, each of said connecting plates weldably joined to the web portions of the weld plates mounted on adjacent panels, so that said connection plates are in substantial parallel alignment with the web portions of said weld plates.
 5. A precast concrete wall construction comprising: a plurality of precast concrete panels, each of said panels having first and second pairs of weldable attachment plates embedded at the corners thereof along opposed parallel edges, the outer surfaces of the first pair of plates along one edge spaced from the edge margin of the panel a distance sufficient to accommodate the thickness of a connector plate, first and second anchor bars integral with said first and second pairs of weldable attachment plates for embedding same in said plurality of precast concrete panels, and a connector plate weldably joined to one of the first pair of plates of adjacent panels, the outer surface of said connector plate being substantially even with the edge margins of said adjacent panels.
 6. The wall construction system of claim 5 and including foundation means for supporting said panels in vertical position, said foundation means having weldable foundation plates embedded therein, each of said foundation plates aligned in registry with one of said second pair of plates along the bottom edge of adjacent vertical panels. 